Just to set the record straight, ''these'' guys came first... mostly. (The Bowery Boys's 1946 film ''Spook Busters'' was made under the working title of ''Ghost Busters''.)

In 1975 Creator/{{Filmation}} created a series for Creator/{{CBS}} called ''The Ghost Busters,'' starring ''FTroop'' veterans Forrest Tucker and Larry Storch, as well as Bob Burns in a gorilla suit (yeah, this show was kind of odd). For this low-budget live-action series, Forrest Tucker, Larry Storch and Bob Burns played Jake Kong, Eddie Spencer and Tracy (When you hear the names "Spencer Tracy, and Kong", you'd probably think of the famous actor and a gorilla named Kong. Nope... the gorilla's name is Tracy) who would receive a message from the mysterious, unseen "Zero" who would inform them that some spook or other was up to mischief, and the Ghost Busters would have to stop it. [[HilarityEnsues Hijinks would ensue]] as the Busters and the Ghosts would use every trick you could think of (and even some you wouldn't) to outwit each other. For fifteen episodes the show ran on a rather "random" style of humor and was finally laid to rest.

Fast forward to 1984. Creator/ColumbiaPictures wanted to make a movie about a team of "paranormal investigators and eliminators," which they wanted to call, surprise surprise, ''Film/{{Ghostbusters|1984}}''. The characters, setting and unique aspects of the storyline were completely unrelated to the Flimation series, but well-into production, Columbia learned that Filmation already held a trademark of the name. After some negotiation, Columbia was able to license the name. With the movie going on to become a massive blockbuster, they decided to cash-in with [[WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters an animated series]]. At the time, Filmation had become an animation powerhouse thanks to their successful ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983'' and ''WesternAnimation/SheRaPrincessOfPower'' cartoons. They were very close to striking a deal to work with Columbia on the project, but when that didn't pan out, they thought they could cash-in with their own show.

So we got the animated ''Ghostbusters''. A sequel to the live-action series, this starred the sons of Jake Kong and Eddie Spencer (who have the same names as their fathers). Tracy is back too, though he neither looks nor acts anything like his live-action counterpart. Nevertheless, dialogue indicates that this ''is'' the same gorilla.

The new series followed the premise of its forebearer and had the same style of humor, but there were significant alterations: the setting had changed--the Ghostbusters now worked out of "Ghost Command" in which they kept some ghosts as pets, had technology that verged on the blatantly magical such as a talking car that could fly through space and ''travel through time'', and even a backdoor to some sort of alternate dimension, which they went into in every episode to "[[TransformationSequence get into uniform]]." The biggest change, though, was that they now had a nemesis, a sort of ghost-robot thing named Prime Evil, who operated out of "Hauntquarters"--an elongated house situated at the end of time or something--and commanded a legion of paranormal baddies. The mysterious "Zero" from the 1975 series was never mentioned; instead usually the [=GBs=] would either be contacted by someone (usually their reporter friend Jessica Wray) or else just realize something is up and take initiative.

Like its forebearer, ''Ghostbusters'' animated only lasted one season. This time, the cause for failure was more clear: kids tuned in thinking that this was the show with those four guys with the Proton Packs, and it wasn't (that was ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters''). That, and ''Ghostbusters'' runs on a "random" style of humor, which isn't to everyone's tastes. Some people also didn't like how Aesop-heavy the cartoon was.[[note]]Never mind, of course, that [[SixtyFiveEpisodeCartoon it would never have gone past sixty-five episodes anyway]], as that was the standard for Filmation.[[/note]]

Even so, there is a small following of people who love this series, and even consider it "the ''True'' Ghostbusters." You can find a [[IncrediblyLamePun haunt]] for such people [[http://filmationghostbuster.proboards.com/ here]].

Both the live-action series and the cartoon are available in their entirety on DVD.

----------------------!!Tropes common to both series include:

* BagOfHolding: Tracy's Ghost Kit.* DisintegratorRay: The Ghost Dematerializer.* EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys: Tracy[[note]]Tracy's presence comes from the tradition of Bowery Boys-era spook-shows, which sometimes saw a man in a gorilla suit menace the heroes[[/note]].* PublicDomain: Both series borrow a lot from classic mythology, literature, and sometimes film.

!!Tropes particular to the live action series include:* AsHimself: Variation: "Tracy 'trained by' Bob Burns".* DefangedHorrors: All of the ghosts and monsters our heroes faced were severely nerfed in some way: Dr. Frankenstein is saddled with an incompetent monster; the Wolfman acts like a big puppy when transformed; the Mummy sprays dust everywhere and is deathly afraid of moths. Not so much "defanged" as "had all of their teeth pulled out."* DemonicDummy: The Phantom of Vaudeville had one that was ''not at all threatening or even scary''. In a cute plot twist, [[spoiler: the Phantom himself turned out to be the dummy, and the dummy was the real Phantom]].* DisintegratorRay / BlackBox: Their standard ghost-busting gadget, the Dematerializer. Amusingly, none of them really knew how it worked.* HurricaneOfPuns: ''Dear God''. Sometimes they were genuinely (so bad they were) funny; sometimes they were groan-inducing. Example: when faced with Count Dracula, Kong muses that they'll need a stake to defeat him. Tracy reaches into the Ghost Kit and produces a ''steak''. Kong says, "No, a ''wooden stake''." Tracy raps against the T-bone--it is, in fact, ''a wooden steak''.* LastNameBasis: (Jake) Kong and (Eddie) Spenser. The former's first name wasn't even given in the original series.* LethalJokeItem: While the Mummy was in no way ''lethal'', the dust he spewed from his bandages could diffuse the Dematerializer's beam.* SpecialGuest: Perhaps the best way to describe this show is ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' InTheStyleOf the 1960s ''Series/{{Batman}}'' TV show.* [[IncrediblyLamePun Spiritual]] [[SpiritualSuccessor Successor]]: To the earlier Tucker/Storch sitcom ''FTroop''.* ThisPageWillSelfDestruct: [[OncePerEpisode Spenser and Tracy would go to a store to pick up a secret message from Zero, once the message was played, it would always blow up in Tracy's face.]]* TheUnfunny / OnlySaneMan: Kong.* TheUnseen: Zero.* WeaksauceWeakness: A corollary to the DefangedHorrors aspect. Played with in the Phantom of Vaudeville: our heroes get rid of him by unmasking him, but this also means that the Dematerializer doesn't work on him.

!!Tropes particular to the animated series include:

* SixtyFiveEpisodeCartoon* AbnormalAmmo: The Ghost Gummer, Spectre-Snare, Bubble Blaster, Fright Freezer...* AlliterativeName: Ditto.* AmplifiedAnimalAptitude: Tracy the gorilla was a scientific genius.* AmusementPark: The episode "Rollerghoster."* AndKnowingIsHalfTheBattle: Taken somewhat to extremes, even for a Filmation property. Each episode would end with an {{Anvilicious}} lecture, which would then be repeated (sometimes verbatim) in the moral at the end of the episode.* AnimatedAdaptation: Of the 1975 live action series.* AnythingButThat: The ghosts sometimes say this to Prime Evil's punishments.* AwesomeBackpack: The [=GhostPacks=], which commonly served as…** [[BagOfHolding Bags Of Holding]]* BarefootCartoonAnimal: Belfry.** FullyDressedCartoonAnimal: Belfry's siblings.* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: In "Prime Evil's Good Deed," Belfry stands up for Prime Evil when Ansabone and Shock Clock make fun of the ghost. In return, when Big Evil attacks Ghost Command, Prime Evil demands that he leave Belfry alone, and even attacks Big Evil with the Bubble Blaster (said act being the good deed that restores his powers).* BigBad: Prime Evil.* BlackMagicianGirl: Apparitia and Mysteria. Futura counts as one too, when the writers remember she's also a magic-slinger.* {{Bowdlerize}}: One episode takes everybody back to the Salem Witch Trials. What happens to you if you're a witch? You're tarred and feathered and chased out of town.* BrattyHalfPint: Even if one does not regard Belfry as such, Brat-A-Rat is professedly one. Corky, Jessica's nephew, is another one of these.* BroadStrokes: The continuity is not very consistent, both internally and with the 1975 series. Somewhat justified in that the Ghostbusters can travel through time.* BubbleGun: A favorite in the boys' arsenal of weapons.* ButtMonkey: Eddie on the 'busters' side, Scared Stiff for the ghosts.* ChekhovsGun* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: Prime Evil regularly inflicted these on his minions. He'd blast Scared Stiff to pieces, chain up Sir Trance-A-Lot and pour water on him to make him rust, force Apparitia to sew Airhead back together, or stuff Haunter into his pith helmet.* CoolCar: The Ghost Buggy.* CoolHouse: Ghost Command. Also Hauntquarters.* CorruptCorporateExecutive: The human villain in "The Battle for Ghost Command".* CoversAlwaysLie: In the back cover of the 2016 DVD "Ghostbusters Prime Evil", Jessica Wray the reporter is portrayed as a SixthRanger to the Ghostbusters and is seen using a Ghost Dematerializer which she only used once in the episode "The Sleeping Dragon". * CowardlyLion: Eddie was never as eager to fight Prime Evil's minions as Jake or Tracy, but he was always there when they needed him. He was also something of a CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass, as in at least one episode he wreaks so much havoc on Hauntquarters ''by himself'' that Prime Evil promises to call off his current EvilPlan if the other Ghostbusters will come and get Eddie.* CreatorCameo: As in most other Filmation cartoons, Lou Scheimer voiced several characters, most notably Tracy the gorilla. He also voices Ansabone and Fibface.* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Eddie. There are many episodes where he shows that he can be a good Ghostbuster, especially when Jake isn't around. Indeed, this could also be said about the ghosts, who are much the same way when Prime Evil isn't breathing down their necks.* CryingWolf: In "The Girl Who Cried Vampire", a young futuristic girl fakes a ghost attack to amuse herself, but it results in nobody but Eddie believing her when she says the two new people at the colony are vampires. Luckily, the other Ghostbusters realize that maybe she's telling the truth, and save the day.* {{Cthulhumanoid}}: Mr. Squid, an AffablyEvil ghost from beneath the sea. Despite his appearance, he sounds like Droopy Dog from Tex Avery's cartoons.* DeadpanSnarker: Ghost Buggy was constantly making insulting remarks, usually about Tracy. Their answering machine, "Ansabone" would likewise always make some remark every time it took a message.* DemBones: "Scared Stiff" was a [[SkeleBot9000 skeletal robot ghost]] -- and, of course, Prime Evil, at least from the neck up, was similarly roboto-skeletal.* DetectEvil: Jake's ghost-sniffin' nose.* DeusExMachina: Seemingly spoofed with Fuddy, Merlin the wizard's sidekick, who Jake can mystically ask for help during the night of the full moon. Fuddy's still an apprentice after 150 years, and Jake never gets what he asks for. Sometimes it turns out to be useful anyway, though.* TheDragAlong* ElevatorGag: Continually with the Skelevator.* EnemyMine: On more than one occasion do the Ghostbusters have to team up with Prime Evil to defeat an even eviller ghost, Big Evil.* EpisodeTitleCard* EvenEvilHasStandards: In "The Princess and the Troll" when one of Gimghoul's minions asks if he will put a spell on Princess Gwendolyn with his scepter in order to force her into marrying him, Gimghoul replies, "I find such crude methods distasteful."* EvilBrit: Haunter, the British colonial hunter ghost. He's also based on comedian Creator/TerryThomas.* EvilIsPetty: Several of Prime Evil's evil plots revolve around taking out perceived sleights to his and other ghosts' image.* EvilOverlord: Prime Evil clearly falls into this category.* EvilSorcerer: Prime Evil is also this.* {{Expy}}: Dracula is suspiciously similar to Drac on ''The Groovie Ghoulies'', as is Victor from "The Girl Who Cried Vampire."* FatAndSkinny: Jake and Eddie.* FiveEpisodePilot* FiveManBand:** TheHero: Jake Kong** TheLancer: Eddie Spencer** TheSmartGuy: Tracy, the Gorilla** TheBigGuy: Tracy, the Gorilla** TheChick: Futura and Jessica* FlyingSaucer: A fairly common feature on the show. Haunter's pith-helmet could expand to the size of a VW Beetle and function as one of these.* GadgeteerGenius: Tracy invents all the team's equipment. Yes, Tracy the gorilla.* GhostPlanet: A staple of the series.* GhostShip: As sailed by Long John Scarechrome.* GhostTown: Shows up once or twice, most notably in "Eddie Takes Charge."* GoofyPrintUnderwear: Seen in the process of the TransformationSequence.* GreatBigBookOfEverything: The Ghostbusters' Manual. Infuriatingly, it is ''never mentioned again'' after the first episode.* GreenAesop: Surprisingly, averted in at least two episodes. Though oil is a plot point in each, conservation of oil isn't the aesop. Especially bizarre in the episode about a "ghost" dragon that fed on oil, was melting the North Pole, and was defeated by his fire being extinguished. That episode's aesop? A complete ''non sequitur'' about fire safety.* HalfDressedCartoonAnimal: Tracy.* HauntedHeadquarters: Both Ghost Command and Hauntquarters.* HauntedHouse: Again, both Ghost Command and Hauntquarters.* HauntedTechnology: Nearly all the equipment in the office was some form of haunted skeleton, although the effect is much closer to ''PeeWeesPlayhouse'' than ''{{Poltergeist}}''. The live-action series had this too, with a TV that sprayed water when a nautical-themed show came on and a filing cabinet with a mind of its own.* HeadlessHorseman: Obviously, the episode "The Headless Horseman Caper." Subverted in that he isn't exactly headless--he does have a head, but Prime Evil thought he'd be scarier if he ''were'', so the Horseman stuck his head into his costume. When the head does pop out, it resembles a green-skinned, orange-haired Edgar Allan Poe.* {{Hellevator}}: The Skelevator, again.* HollywoodHacking: The episode "Knight of Terror" involved this.* IDontLikeYouAndYouDontLikeMe: Never ''said'', but certainly implied between Jake and Headless in "The Headless Horseman Caper." Justified, too: Many years ago, Headless and other ghosts caused the failure of Jake's great-grandfather's gold-mine.* InTheFutureHumansWillBeOneRace: By Futura's time it looks like "purple" has become the single ethnicity.* InNameOnly: This cartoon had no connection with the 1984 movie, though the popularity of the latter inspired the {{Revival}} of the 1975 series in animated form.* InsideAComputerSystem: "Cyman's Revenge".* IntrepidReporter: Jessica Wray.** StealthPun: Her last name is Wray, and she's the LoveInterest for Jake [[Film/KingKong1933 Kong]]. Not only that, one of the other major characters is a gorilla.** Furthermore, her first name is Jessica. Think about that.* JetPack: The Ghost Packs can transform into jet packs called "Buster Thruster Packs." And no, that's ''not'' code for anything.* LargeHam: Prime Evil, of course.* LaughablyEvil: Prime Evil and his bungling minions, DependingOnTheWriter.* LosingYourHead: Happened quite often to Scared Stiff.* MagicKnight: Sir Trance-A-Lot could put his opponents to sleep with his magical Trance Lance.* MagicMusic: Floatzart.* MeaningfulName: Futura lives in the future.* MinionWithAnFInEvil: The Headless Horseman, who was so not-scary Prime Evil came up with the headless thing trying to make him moreso. He still only enjoys scaring people if it means they're having fun.* MonsterOfTheAesop: Occasionally subverted--an oil-drinking dragon melting the polar ice caps is ''not'' called out as a Monster of the Aesop, making it technically the subtlest Aesop in the series.* MsFanservice: Futura. And then some.* MusicalAssassin: Floatzart, again.* NewPowersAsThePlotDemands: There are a ton of gimmicks at the heroes' disposal which activate more or less at random and have somewhat unpredictable effects (invisibility also conferring immateriality, for instance). The most powerful and reliable weapons--like a ghostbusting ''tactical nuke''--only show up once.* NiceHat: Tracy's fedora.* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: Most if not all of the ghosts are mashups of one or more different concepts.* NoPlansNoPrototypeNoBackup: Tracy's inventions. Originally, this was to have been the case for the Dematerializer, but in the series proper, all three Ghostbusters carry Dematerializers!* NonHumanSidekick: Belfry the bat (and a boatload of haunted appliances) for the heroes, Brat-A-Rat for the villains.* OneWingedAngel / BodyHorror: The octopus form of Apparitia (from her Shapeshifting powers), as [[http://cartoon-watching.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/filmations-ghostbusters-rollerghoster.html mentioned here]]. Not to mention that ToonPhysics obviously comes into play here, for RuleOfFunny purposes.* OurGhostsAreDifferent: The "ghosts" included a [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolf]] ghost and a ''[[SkeleBot9000 robot]]'' ghost. Most of the enemy "ghosts" behaved an awful lot like corporeal monsters or ''regular animals,'' such as dinosaur "ghosts" and a few dragon "ghosts."* APirate400YearsTooLate: The Ghostbusters had to deal with the likes of Long-John Scarechrome, a cross between this and a SpacePirate. Heck, ''any'' ghostly pirates seen in the show embodied this trope.* PlotDrivenBreakdown: Since the Dematerializer could take out most of the villains with one shot, it tended to get broken or lost so that all the problems weren't resolved in thirty seconds. Moreover, what it did and didn't work on was kind of fuzzy. Generally if a villain were one of the main group of bad guys, whether he were a ghost or not he could be dematerialized. If the villain were a non-ghost and showed up only once, he was safe. Prime Evil was an exception, as he was simply too powerful for the Dematerializer's blasts to affect.* QuirkyMinibossSquad: Prime Evil's "Usual Gang of Idiots".* {{Revival}}: Of the 1975 series.* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: The Ghostbusters to most of the kids (and quite a few fellow adults) on the show. If their parents say "there's no such thing as ghosts," they know instinctively that there are grownups who ''know'' that ghosts exist and will take them seriously. Interestingly, the Filmation and Columbia Pictures franchises share this in common: in the '84 movie, the police turn a possessed Louis over to the Ghostbusters.* RubeGoldbergDevice: As featured in the TransformationSequence. Tracy was also fond of these.* SanDimasTime: Seems to be in effect, if only because there's only one "future" the heroes routinely travel to.* SecretLegacy* SequelSeries* SickAndWrong: There's an episode in which Prime Evil must do one good deed in order to gain his powers back. Upon hearing this, he muses, "How disgusting."* SidekickExMachina: The Ghostbusters would be ''completely'' screwed without Tracy around.* SkeleBot9000: Scared Stiff -- and Prime Evil, at least from the neck up.* SkunkStripe: Apparitia has one.* SonicScream: Belfry's "Belfry Blast".* SpaceWhaleAesop: Dispose of your trash properly or your equipment will be devoured by ghosts!** A ''literal'' one in the form of an episode featuring the ghosts of Captain Ahab and Literature/MobyDick, who had become friends in the afterlife. Y'know, 'cause Moby-Dick is now...[[DontExplainTheJoke a ''space whale''.]]* SpinOffspring: Two of the protagonists (Jake Kong Junior and Eddie Spencer Junior) are sons of protagonists (Jake Kong Senior and Eddie Spencer Senior) of the series it spun from.* StableTimeLoop: In "Frights of the Roundtable", the Ghostbusters borrow Excalibur from Myth/KingArthur. In "The Secret of Mastodon Valley", they go back to prehistoric times. [[spoiler: In order to defeat the Ghost of the Missing Link, they place the sword in a mountainside to cause an avalanche. In doing so, the Ghostbusters accidentally place the sword in the stone that King Arthur pulls it from.]]* StatusQuoIsGod: The Ghostbusters get rid of evil spirits with a gun called the Dematerializer that sends ghosts to limbo...for a while, so they can be back whenever another script calls for them to be around (but see WildMassGuessing for a theory about that).* StockFootage: Unfortunately, perhaps the single best-remembered characteristic of any Creator/{{Filmation}} series.* SurroundedByIdiots: Prime Evil's minions probably became ghosts because they were TooDumbToLive.* TeamPet: Belfry the bat.* TimeTravel: A recurring plot point thanks to Futura, the purple-skinned Ghostbuster from the future, and her Time Hopper vehicle.* TimeyWimeyBall: Time travel is safe, common, and highly resilient to change. Traveling back or forward in time is about as casual as going out of country. This is all because the Ghostbusters are paranormal gunslingers: they show up, get rid of the ghost, and get back to their normal time period before they can do any damage.* TitleThemeTune: The complete lyrics: "Let's go, Ghostbusters! Let's go! Let's go, Let's go!"* {{Toyetic}}: Subverted. Schaper's toyline didn't last as long as that of ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters''; also, every single thing that was made as a toy also appeared on the show (however, several things that appeared on the show ''didn't'' make it into the toyline).* TransformationSequence: The boys getting on their ghostbusting gear. One of Filmation's favorite methods for avoiding new animation. Mind you, it was a pretty kickass sequence.* TransformingMecha: The Ghost Buggy, aka GB.* VerbalTic: Prime Evil punctuates his speech with what sounds like radio static.* VillainousBreakdown: Prime Evil suffers this more than once.* WalkingShirtlessScene: Tracy.* WhatTheHellIsThatAccent: Count Dracula's accent in "Shades of Dracula" wavers between Transylvanian and Italian.* WhoYouGonnaCall: Oddly enough, the original, 1975 series ''isn't'' the TropeCodifier. Our heroes received messages from their boss, Mr. Zero, in a parody of ''Series/MissionImpossible''.* YeahShot: The heroes do this on a regular basis.* YouHaveFailedMe: Prime Evil says this to his flunkies ''quite often''. He also acts on it on a regular basis, whether by blasting Scared Stiff to pieces or stuffing Haunter into his Pith Helmet.* YouNoTakeCandle: Air-Head Mummy talk this way.* YouWillBeSpared: Two kids unwittingly released a ghost bent on revenge against the family of one of them. He spared the kid as thanks.----